Smart Harvesting: How a New App Can Help Peanut Farmers Optimize Harvest Timing

Written by:
C. Dillan Burkett, Graduate Assistant
Aaron P. Turner, Assistant Professor
Kendall R. Kirk, Precision Agriculture Engineer

As peanut farmers know all too well, timing is everything when it comes to harvest. The decision of when to dig peanuts can significantly impact crop quality and value, while the decision of when to harvest those dug peanuts can have a substantial impact on drying costs and overall harvest efficiency.

To help with these critical decisions, Clemson University’s Department of Agricultural Sciences and the Center for Agricultural Technology (CU-CAT) have collaborated to develop a web app that forecasts kernel moisture content of windrowed peanuts. The app is designed to assist peanut producers, researchers, and buying points by providing guidance for scheduling digging and combining operations while also identifying conditions that may increase the risk of cold weather injury.

The web app predicts how windrowed peanuts will dry in the field. By entering a ZIP code, users can estimate drying—and in some cases rewetting—based on their local weather forecast. These predictions help determine when peanuts may reach an optimal moisture content for harvesting, allowing growers to make more informed decisions, reduce drying costs, minimize crop damage, and improve overall harvest efficiency.

The forecasting models used by the app are based on research conducted during the 1970s and 1980s. These models account for factors such as temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation to estimate the drying process. While the physical process of drying peanuts has not changed, today’s readily available weather data allows those proven models to be used in a practical, real-time decision support tool.

Current research by the Clemson team is focused on validating and refining these models using more recent field data while incorporating additional weather variables such as wind and solar radiation. In the meantime, the app allows users to select a range of drying rates, making it possible to evaluate multiple “what if” scenarios under different weather conditions.

For peanut farmers, deciding when to dig remains one of the most important management decisions of the season. Equally challenging is determining when those peanuts are ready to combine after field drying. This decision becomes especially important when considering drying costs, harvester capacity, and approaching weather systems.

Leaving peanuts in the field too long can increase the risk of yield loss and quality degradation, while harvesting before adequate field drying has occurred can result in excessive artificial drying costs. Both situations directly affect profitability. For later harvests, approaching cold weather or freeze events can also damage peanuts and reduce marketability.

The app helps reduce these risks by using local weather forecasts to estimate drying rates and forecast when peanuts may reach a preferred kernel moisture content for combining. This information can assist growers in scheduling digging and harvesting operations while making informed decisions ahead of hurricanes, heavy rainfall, frost, or freeze events.

Although the current version of the app represents a significant advancement, the developers recognize there is still room for improvement. Existing parameters are based on estimated values, and continued field research is underway to improve model accuracy. Researchers are collecting moisture samples from different soil types and environmental conditions throughout the harvest season to refine drying rate constants, improve estimates of initial kernel moisture at digging, and strengthen overall forecast accuracy.

The research team is also studying cold weather injury in peanuts. Current recommendations suggest avoiding digging within 72 hours of a freeze event. Since freeze damage is closely related to kernel moisture content at the time of freezing, accurately forecasting kernel moisture before these events may eventually lead to more precise recommendations for minimizing crop injury.

The Peanut Field Drying Forecaster is available online and can also be accessed using the QR code provided with this article. Growers are encouraged to use the tool during harvest and share feedback on its performance.

Farmer feedback plays an important role in improving the app. Users are encouraged to share their experiences using the feedback link available on the hosted webpage. Information about forecast accuracy, performance under local conditions, and suggested improvements will help researchers continue refining the tool for the benefit of the entire peanut industry.

The Peanut Field Drying Forecaster represents an important step toward improving harvest management by combining proven research with modern weather forecasting. As research continues and additional field data are collected, the app will become an even more valuable resource for helping peanut producers make timely harvest decisions while protecting crop quality, reducing drying costs, and improving overall harvest efficiency.

Thank you for your continued dedication to producing high-quality peanuts, and best wishes for a safe and successful harvest season.

Caption: Scan to visit Clemson’s Peanut Field Drying Forecaster.

Caption: Scan to visit Clemson’s Peanut Field Drying Forecaster